The present invention relates to a transportation assembly for transporting sausage shaped products, like sausages, out of a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products, according to the preamble of claim 1.
In particular, the present invention relates to a transportation assembly for transporting sausage shaped products, like sausages, out of a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products, in a transportation direction to a rod-like storing element, like a smoking rod, wherein each sausage-shaped product comprises a filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing closed on at least one end by a closing means, like a closure clip, and a suspension element, like a suspension loop, attached to the end closed by said closure means, the transportation assembly comprises a guiding device having a bar-shaped guiding element along which the sausage-shaped product is guided by its suspension element, and a transportation device for transporting the sausage-shaped product along the guiding element, by engaging the suspension element of the sausage-shaped product. The suspension element is held in an open configuration by the weight of the filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing to which it is attached by the closure means.
For the production of sausage-shaped products, like sausages, it is known that, a filling material like meat, adhesive, sealing material etc. is fed by a filling machine through a filling tube of a clipping machine into a tubular casing material, which is stored on the filling tube and which is closed at its front end, referred to the feeding direction of the filling material, by a closing clip. The tubular casing material is pulled-off from the filling tube while being filled by the filling pressure of the filling material. After a predetermined volume of filling material has been filled into said tubular casing material, a displacement device with a first and a second pair of displacement elements forms a plait-like portion of the tubular casing material and the clipping machine places and closes at least one closing clip at the plait-like portion forming the back end of the sausage shaped product, referred to the filling direction of the filling material, by respective closing tools which are reversibly movable towards the plait-like portion. Together with said closing clip arranged at the backend of the sausage-shaped product, a suspension element, like a suspension loop, is attached to the plait-like portion for enabling the sausage-shaped product just produced to be handled, for example to be hung up on a smoking rod or the like. Subsequently, the sausage-shaped product just produced, is separated from the remaining tubular casing material by a knife or the like of a cutting device of the clipping machine and is transferred to a storage device or another machine for the next producing step.
From EP patent application 0 330 857, an apparatus for positioning sausages discharged from a clipping machine, on a smoking rod is known. A suspension loop of a sausage just produced, is caught by a catching device and is guided over a chain guide including a chain conveyor for positioning the sausages on the smoking rod as well as a sword for catching the suspension loop and guiding said loop to the chain conveyor. Horizontally aligned piston/cylinder arrangements are positioned adjacent to said sword for supporting the sword. For enabling the loop passing the sword, said pistons are alternately retracted according to the production cycle of the clipping machine.
Moreover, EP patent application 2 156 743 discloses a device for transferring a sausage shaped product comprising a suspension loop, from a clipping machine to a storage device, like a smoking rod. The suspension loop is caught by a catching device and is guided over a horizontally arranged bar of said transfer device. At its upper surface, said guide bar having a rectangular cross section, includes longitudinally grooves into which hooks of a transportation device project for transporting the sausage-shaped products along said bar towards the smoking rod. Bearing elements engage the side surfaces of said bar for supporting the bar. Said bearing elements comprise screw threads at their surfaces for enabling the suspension loop passing said supporting elements, while being along said bar.
In said known devices, the suspension loop attached to a sausage-shaped product, is pulled downwardly by the weight of the sausage-shaped product, in particular by the filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing attached to said suspension loop. Thereby, the suspension loop is held in an open or spread configuration. That means that the upper portion of the suspension loop lays firmly on the upper surface of the guide means, like the guide bar or the chain guide, whereas the lower portion of the suspension loop is pulled downwardly away from the guide means, thereby forming an open loop portion having the shape of a triangle depending on the width of the guide means.
During the production of sausage-shaped products, it may occur that a filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing is not correct affixed to the respective suspension element guided into the clipping machine, e.g. in case of damaged casing material or a defect closure clip. In these cases, a single suspension loop without a filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing is discharged from the clipping machine. Due to the missing weight, said single suspension loop may block the discharge path, or may get stuck at the transportation device thereby interfere the sausage-shaped products already hung up previously on the rod-like elements or the successive sausage-shaped products, respectively. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transportation assembly with which the above mentioned drawbacks can be overcome and which allows a safe transfer or transportation of the sausage-shaped products while being discharged out of a clipping machine.